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Mechanical, Electrical & In-Floor Radiant Heat

Dwight did all the Mechanical and Plumbing in this house. That's his Business (he owns D.K. Mechanical Ltd.), so it was a viable option. This is an area of the Build where you need absolute Expertise. There are lots of things in a House Build that you can do on your own, but it's critical that if you do choose to do the work on your own, you need to have the exact Skills. We Hire Out for anything not in our own Skill Sets, or when we run out of time and need to bring in some new people.

Can you peer into that first picture and see Dwight at the end of the Lower Level?? I'm trying to remember how many feet the Lower Level is -- the whole house is 136 feet long, so I think the Lower Level is 63 feet long -- that seems about right... you'd think you'd never forget something like that, but time passes, and so do the details! And the Blueprints are right under my desk, here, too -- ah, well. You get the idea that it's very large... and that's Dwight at the end of all the huge amount of Ductwork. See the two lengths of it in the Ceiling?

Oh, and just so you know, we put in a 9 foot Ceiling in the Lower Level so the height when the Ceilings are done is nice and high -- it ends up feeling really spacious. I highly recommend a higher Ceiling for any Lower Level -- and in any situation where you have more than one Storey. So if we are able to build a Two-Storey House, we would build a 9 foot Basement, and a 10 foot Ceilingh in the Main Floor. It doesn't cost a whole lot more at the time of the Build, but it creates an incredible feel to the home when it's done, so it's well worth it!

There's another view of the really long Ductwork in the Lower Level -- looks cool, eh? and that's the Furnace in the Center and the Two Water Heaters at the end. We have Forced Air Heat, Air Conditioning, and In-Floor Radiant Heat, so that combination keeps the house comfortable year-round.

This is what the Hose for the In-Floor Radiant Heat looks like -- isn't that neat? Very cool process. That's Dwight standing in the middle on the Lower Level. It was my extra-glamourous job to cut all the little 'Tags' that hold the red hose down to the rebar (steel bars). The ground is first leveled and tamped, then you have the gravel brought in, that's leveled, then the plastic, the rebar is next, then the Radiant Heat Hose is after that. You take little plastic Tags (they're specially made for this), and attach the hose to the rebar. I'll have to ask Dwight, but I'm sure we did a 'Test Drive' first, to make sure everything was working properly, then the Cement is poured and the Floor Created.

Wildlife Wins

The first shot is the very beginning stages of the Air Conditioning. Then the Radiant Heat Hose went into the Ceiling, too, wherever there was a Tiled Area Upstairs. It need to be attached very carefully, because if you punture it, that a costly mistake. And speaking of costly mistakes, if you are having Radiant Heat Installed in your home, or you already have it, make sure that every Worker knows and Accepts that if they are anywhere near the Floor with any Nails. Carpet Installers and any Carpenters and the ones to watch out for. Many folk out there won't acknowledge that you can't shoot nails into the floor when you have Radiant Heat, so that's just a word of warning. We know a couple who had their Flooring Guy completely ruin their In Floor Heating because he wouldn't use Glue to hold down the Carpet instead of the standard use of nails. Good to watch out for that!

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And this is what the Furnace Room looks like -- this is the Radiant Heat Panel -- cool, eh?

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